Miss Hargreaves Goes to Mutant High
by Dean's Leather Jacket
Summary: Miss Claudia Hargreaves is given the opportunity to teach at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Only she isn't a mutant, but she sure falls hard for one. A Scott/Cyclops/OC story.
1. A New Life

A/N: This is my first ever X-Men fanfic. I have never read the comic books so my X Men knowledge is going off the movie and Wikipedia (as awful as that sounds). So, please, if I have any thing factual wrong please let me know! Otherwise, this is pretty much an AU story. Jean and Scott aren't together, no one's died as per X3, and I plan on this story being a happy story and not a depressing story, haha. Other than that, please enjoy!

Pairing: Scott Summers-Cyclops/OC

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I owned Cyclops (or even Wolverine), I wouldn't be sitting here writing this fic.

Miss Hargreaves Goes to Mutant High

By: Dean's Leather Jacket

Chapter One: A New Life

The yellow taxi slid through the rain drenched country road easily, the sound of the windshield wipers almost lulling one, Claudia Hargreaves, to sleep.

"Not much long now, Miss." The taxi driver, a Russian immigrant, said through the silence of the car.

"Thank you." Claudia replied, placing her forehead back against the cool glass of the window.

It was a dismal day in Westchester, New York—Just the way she liked it. Rain fell in sheets down around the vehicle, and the overcast skies added to the ambiance.

The Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. That's where she was headed. It had only taken one phone interview and one video interview with Professor Charles Xavier to be offered a job as a History teacher. There were no pretenses. Claudia knew that the "Gifted" part of the name meant mutant. Claudia had no prejudices against mutants (she was not one herself); probably one of the few in the world.

The taxi took a right down a road through a copse of trees. When they emerged, Claudia couldn't help but gasp. A wide, wrought iron gate gave way to a large, sprawling mansion. It was probably the most beautiful house (if you could really call it a house), Claudia had ever seen. Just through the rain Claudia could make out tons of windows, spacious grounds, and activities fields.

The cab pulled under an over hanging that shielded a front door. There were two people waiting. An older, bald man in a suit, sat in a wheelchair, and the other was a tall, beautiful, mocha skinned woman with shockingly white hair that was styled in a pixie cut.

Claudia stepped out of the cab with a smile to match those gracing the faces of these two people.

"Welcome, Miss Hargreaves, to my home." Said the man whom I remembered instantly as Professor Xavier himself.

"Thank you, Professor, for this opportunity to work at your school." Claudia spoke.

"We are very excited to have you here! This is my right hand woman, Ororo Monroe."

"It is a pleasure to meet you." Said Claudia as she shook the woman's hand. Ororo smiled, and repeated the sentiment.

Claudia turned to pay the taxi driver who had kindly taken her two large suitcases from the trunk. The rest of her belongings she had following her later in the week.

"I do wish you had allowed me to send a car for you at the airport." Professor Xavier said when the cab had driven away.

"Please, Professor. You have done way more than enough for me." Claudia chuckled. Xavier just smiled slightly with a twinkle in his eye. He maneuvered his wheelchair around and beckoned.

"Come, Miss Hargreaves, and we will show you to your living quarters."

"Let me help you." Ororo bade, as she reached for one of the suitcases. Claudia thanked her and the two women took off after the professor. He led them to an elevator of which the outer door matched the wall paneling preceding and following it and hit the button for the second floor.

"Your room will be on the second floor of the main part of the building with the other faculty members. The students are housed in the East Wing, and classrooms are in the West Wing. We have a cafeteria and kitchens on the ground floor of this part of the mansion, as well as a recreational room and TV lounge." Claudia nodded; taking in all the information the Professor was giving her.

"Don't worry, you will get lost the first couple weeks, then you'll figure out your way around." Ororo supplied to which the three chuckled.

The door *binged* open and the women followed Xavier out, and left down the hall to room 213.

"Your room." Xavier motioned for Claudia to open the door.

It was a great room. Queen sized bed sat in the far corner of the room with a nightstand. There was a desk, a good-sized closet, plenty of lamps for ample lighting, and another door leading to a bathroom. IT was all anyone would ever really need. Claudia was easy to please.

"Now, Miss Hargreaves, I will leave you to your settling in. Ororo will stay with you for a time to make sure everything is all right. Forgive me, I have some business I keep putting off." The professor said, breaking Claudia from her thoughts.

"Of course, Professor. Please don't let me keep you! Thank you again for taking me on. I am so thrilled to be here."

"Again, we are happy to have you, Miss Hargreaves. I will see you at dinner." And with that, Xavier was gone, back down the hall to the elevator.

"Now it's just us girls." Ororo beamed. Claudia's fears instantly disappeared. They were all right with her being a non-mutant in a mutant school. It was one of her biggest fears that they would be wary of her, but that didn't seem the case, at least with Ororo.

"Can I help you unpack? You have me for the _whole_ day." Ororo smiled.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could show me more of this place. It's so beautiful!"

"Of course! Come on!"

And so Claudia left her bags in the middle of the floor, dropped the back pack she'd been carrying and followed after the beautiful mutant.

"This is my room." Ororo gestured to the door that was neighboring Claudia's. "We're close if you ever need me. This is Scott's room. You'll meet him later tonight. He's on an… errand. This is Jean's room… Logan's room… Hank's room…" and the list of people Claudia had yet to meet went on.

For the rest of the day, Ororo showed Claudia around the mansion, and in turn got to know each other.

Ororo had come to the school for refuge, as most mutants here had. She could control the weather (to which she apologized for not making it sunny, but they were badly in need of rain) and preferred to be called Storm.

The classrooms were converted studies and various other rooms, as was most of the place. There were chalkboards and white boards and desks and anything else you could think of that would be in a classroom.

It was still summer vacation, hence why the majority of the students weren't around. Some had no homes to go back to, and some were still accepted by their parents. For the rest that had no homes to return to, Storm told Claudia that two of the instructors, Jean and Logan, had taken the remaining students on a field trip to the beach (of which they were to return the next day).

The rain outside had finally ceased, but Storm promised to take Claudia outside when the grounds had dried up a bit. They eventually made it back to Claudia's room where they spent the rest of the time till dinner unpacking Claudia's suitcases. Claudia found Storm extremely easy to talk to and soon found herself laughing hysterically at Storm's stories and jokes.

"But, that story will be for another time." Storm laughed when they noticed it was time for dinner.

Claudia was actually able to remember where the dining room was, but she was pretty sure the rest of her knowledge of the mansion stopped there. This was really going to take some getting used to.

There were only a handful of people in the dining room including the professor and a couple other adults that Claudia had yet to meet. One, and Claudia had to check her reaction so she didn't appear to be a bitch, was a big, blue, hairy… beast, was how she would describe it. But he wore dress slacks with suspenders and a button up shirt that were made just for him. He was sitting by the Professor and they seemed in deep conversation.

"Ah, Miss Hargreaves, this is Dr. Hank McCoy. He is our doctor on duty." Professor Xavier introduced. "Hank, this is Miss Claudia Hargreaves, our new History teacher."

"It is very nice to meet you, Miss Hargreaves." Dr. McCoy said as he held out his hand… or paw rather… however you wanted to look at it.

"Nice to meet you doctor." Claudia said with a warm smile and a firm handshake. "So, you're the school nurse? Can I call you Bones?" It was Claudia's nervous habit of making lame jokes (especially when they involved Star Trek of all things), but Hank laughed heartily.

"That's brilliant. Not even Logan has cracked those." Hank said with a wide smile that revealed wicked looking teeth.

The professor then introduced me to a couple of the younger students that had elected to stay behind rather than go to the beach. The youngest couldn't be more than nine or ten, a little boy named Quinn who could control machinery. He was the cutest thing, and he wanted Claudia to sit next to him, so she did, with Ororo on her other side.

Claudia got the impression that this sit down dinner was more formal than everyone was used to during the regular school year. There were a wide variety of choices: chicken, vegetables, salads, bread etcetera.

A few minutes after everyone had served themselves and was tucking in to eat, the door to the dining room opened and in walked probably one of the most attractive men Claudia had ever seen in her life.

"Sorry I'm late, Professor." The man said, and Claudia immediately found it odd that he was wearing sunglasses, inside, when it was still overcast out. But Claudia soon mentally scolded herself, and came to the conclusion she may see a lot of odd things.

"Ah, Scott, glad to see you are back! We've only just started. Sit, sit!" Professor Xavier greeted him, and Claudia could tell that there was a father/son dynamic going on between the two that was rather endearing.

The man, Scott rather, rounded the table and sat in the chair across the table from Claudia. He had dark brown hair carefully styled. Red tinted glasses were perched on the bridge of his cute nose. He had rather high cheekbones and full lips, and gracing his strong jaw was a little bit of stubble. He wore a worn, black leather jacket that he then took off and draped across the back of his chair. A black t-shirt was underneath and it stretched taut across his pectoral muscles. A pair of dark wash, boot cut jeans graced his strong looking legs, and a pair of black boots completed his person. Translation: Claudia could legitimately not help but stare at him for probably a good minute. Thankfully he didn't seem to notice, but he did notice an unfamiliar face.

"You must be Miss Hargreaves." He spoke to her, offering a slight smile that if she hadn't been sitting down, probably would've made her a little weak in the knees. Claudia couldn't help but also think that even his voice was hot.

"Y-yes, I am." Was all Claudia could say, and she wanted to crawl under her chair and die.

"I'm Scott Summers. I teach Geometry, well Math in general, and Mechanics."

"Nice to meet you." Claudia managed to squeak out. She was not at all eloquent around men; never had been. It came from a youth of not being exactly a "popular" girl. But at 28, she had had a couple of boyfriends, one serious one that ended absolutely horribly, leaving her with a crushed heart, but she hadn't had a boyfriend in over a year. Claudia had never been a real beauty either. She was average height for a female, 5'4". She had short, brown, loosely curled hair (that was her only pride and joy), and hazel eyes with her ever-present glasses. She wasn't rail thin, or overweight (as she had been when she was younger), but was now a healthy medium (which was still pretty Rubenesque, if you knew your Art History).

"She goes by Claudia." Ororo interjected for her, and Claudia was pretty thankful for that.

"Claudia it is then." Scott agreed, and then helped himself to food, and that was that. Claudia glanced over at Ororo who had a funny look on her face. Claudia wasn't sure she liked the look.

"Miss H.?" Came Quinn's little voice to her left.

"Yes, Hun?" Claudia asked him.

"Are we going to talk about the Egyptians this year?" He asked with wide green eyes.

"Yes, I believe we will be. Do you like the Egyptians?" She asked the boy.

"Totally. They have mummies!" He exclaimed. Claudia laughed.

"Mummies, huh? Well, I suppose we could even make our own mummies."

"Make our own? That would be awesome!" Claudia laughed again. She was going to have to review her elementary and middle school History. She had mostly been teaching high school, at her old high school in Virginia, in fact. Then, Mr. Hot Red Glasses spoke up.

"Wouldn't that involve a long process? You'd have to find something to mummify first." Scott said, looking at her with a smirk. She rolled her eyes.

"Mummify something?" Quinn asked with the cutest curious face.

"Yeah, like… a cat, or a squirrel or something." Scott continued.

"Mr. Summers. Please don't frighten him." Claudia warned.

"I want to mummify a squirrel!" Quinn exclaimed again. By this time, everyone's attention had turned to that end of the table. Claudia leaned an elbow against the table and put her forehead in her hands, sighing. "How do we do that?" Quinn asked.

"Well, as Mr. Summer's said, it is kind of a long process. We would have to remove all of its insides and then dry it out with salt outside in the sun, and then wrap it in cloth bandages." Claudia answered.

"Whoa! That sounds awesome! Can we do it? Please, please, please!"

"I don't think so, Quinn. The professor would have to take it into serious consideration, and even then he might not like abuse of the wildlife on his property."

"Oh man!" Quinn pouted a little, but then continued to chow down on his chicken. Claudia looked up at Scott, no longer really affected by his looks, but just angry that he had to bring up the subject of mummification to a nine year old kid. She just glared at him, but Scott smirked (and unfortunately she couldn't see his eye behind the ruby tinted shades, which she found disappointing because part of her wanted to know what color his eyes were).

Claudia glanced at Ororo again, and that strange look she had seen on the white haired mutants face had worsened, this time with a smile.

She made it through dinner without wanting to bodily injure Scott Summers, and returned to her room (with the guidance of Storm, as she probably would've gotten lost) to finish settling into her new room. Her laptop was set up in no time and connected to the mansion's Internet. She shot an email to her best friend back home in Virginia, and decided she should put in a call to her mother. Those phone conversations never were short, so an hour later Claudia threw her phone onto her bed and rubbed her face. She had a lot to prepare for school, which began in a week's time.

There was a short knock at her door which she had left open, and she turned around to face her new favorite person: Scott Summers.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"I thought I was a stick in the mud, but you take the cake." Was his reply. Claudia was taken aback. Okay… "I was just trying to have some fun with the kid. You were getting WAY too serious." Claudia huffed.

"Well, you shouldn't promise him things that we can't do. That was an ancient practice that still isn't fully understood today." Scott snorted.

"Sorry I got the kid's hopes up." He said, and Claudia figured that that was the only apology she was going to get from him. "Look, we kinda got off on the wrong foot. Can we start over again? Properly?"

"Of course." Claudia said. She was pretty easily forgiving… most of the time. Scott stepped into the room, and all of a sudden it felt like the walls were closing in on Claudia the closer he came to her. He held out a hand, and she reached hers as well to shake. Their hands moved up and down in the timeless gesture for probably longer than they should have. And even after the shake was done, Scott wasn't letting go of her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Claudia Hargreaves." He said, cheekily.

"Likewise, Mr. Scott Summers." Claudia replied.

Claudia knew she was going to be in for an interesting time at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. She just didn't know how interesting…

A/N 2: So, I know it's a little boring for a first chapter. I wanted to set it up a bit before I really got into the meat of things. I apologize for grammar or spelling errors I missed. I don't have a BETA but am looking for one if anyone would be interested. Please review! I definitely welcome constructive criticism… flames are a pain in the ass.


	2. Annoyance Begins

A/N: Thank you so much to Faiths-Light13 for reviewing! And thanks to all of those that added my story to their Alerts list or their Favorites list. I really appreciate it!

Disclaimer: I don't really like repeating myself… it's in Chapter One

Miss Hargreaves Goes to Mutant High

By: Dean's Leather Jacket

Chapter Two: Annoyance Begins

Claudia wanted to kill him. He was the most infuriating and unbelievable man she had ever met, and she was done. _Start over my_ _ass_, she often thought to herself.

Since she had gotten there three days ago, he had done nothing but be an absolute pain in the ass. She didn't get it. Gone was the playful guy who was joking around with Quinn about mummifying a squirrel. Now he was just… stuffy Math teacher guy. She didn't _get_ him.

"No one really does." Storm said during a turn about one of the extensive gardens at the Xavier school. "Scott's always been very… I can't think of the word… very, put together, very stern and organized. Logan calls him a 'Boy Scout.' He's always by the book and about rules. I was highly surprised the first night you were here how jokey he was."

"That guy has a huge stick up his ass, if you ask me." Claudia huffed but stopped dead at a batch of lilies. Lilies were her favorite flowers and these were some of the most beautiful she had ever seen. Even more beautiful than the ones she often looked at in the botanical gardens in Washington D.C. "Wow." She breathed, stepping closer to them to smell.

"My prized lilies." Storm muttered affectionately. "You like them?"

"Love them! They're my favorite!" Claudia replied.

"Well, hello there, ladies." Came a deep, growly voice. The two women turned to see Logan walking down the garden path, hands in his jeans. Claudia couldn't help but drool at this man as well. He had that bad boy look, and the jeans he wore… they looked like he was poured into them. Claudia had been slightly overwhelmed when he and Dr. Jean Grey had returned from their field trip. He was a cantankerous no nonsense, blunt guy that had to take some getting used to, but in the short amount of time that she had known Logan, she realized he really was a big Teddy Bear. His girlfriend, Jean, was really nice as well, and had been nothing but accommodating to Claudia.

"Hey Logan." Claudia greeted and Storm did as well.

"Were you looking for one of us?" Storm asked.

"Nah, not really. Jean's cleaning our room and she kicked me out."

Claudia chuckled and the three continued down the path. They rounded a corner and Claudia groaned, for there sitting a ways down the trail on a bench reading a book, was her least favorite person at the mansion.

"Oh boy." Logan muttered.

"My thoughts exactly." Claudia whispered back. Then she steeled herself as they continued closer to Stick-Up-His-Ass.

"Hey there, One Eye." Logan greeted Scott when the three of them had come to a stop in front of him.

Scott looked up at them, and Claudia couldn't help but do an intake of breath. The sunlight gleamed off his well-styled hair and his glasses seemed more fiery red than usual. Those cheekbones always got her. If she hadn't heard about his whole back-story with his mutation and not being able to control it, she would have fully hated him. But as it was, she couldn't hate him for real. She felt sorry for him, and, well, in general she tried not to hate anyone.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite people in the world." Scott said rather snidely; Claudia didn't like his tone.

"The feeling's mutual." She snipped.

"What are you doing out here, Scooter? Shouldn't you be sharpening your pitchfork somewhere?" Logan asked. Claudia couldn't help but snicker a little bit.

"Oh, ha, ha, you're so funny." Scott replied sarcastically.

Then, there was silence, and it was just extremely awkward. Everyone was looking anywhere than at each other, except for Scott who had gone back to reading his book: _Angels and Demons,_ which happened to be one of Claudia's favorite books. Just the slight fact that they had something in common frustrated her.

"Well, I have a meeting with the Professor I need to get too… I'll talk to you guys later." Claudia said, skirting away from the awkwardness.

Later that day, Claudia was in the room that had been provided to her for her office space. There was one large window, a bookcase where she had placed all of her books, a desk, a desk chair for her, and a comfortable armchair for any office visitors. Claudia couldn't have asked for anything better for an office. Back home, her desk was in the classroom and she didn't have an office. Here she had filing cabinets for her organized chaos. It took no time for her to decorate the office the way she liked it.

Her specialty, what she had her Master's in, was Ancient History. Her favorite subject was Ancient Rome, more specifically the Roman Empire. So, it would be no surprise for anyone that knew this fact about her, to see the Roman _gladius_ she had hanging on the wall, and various other recreations of equipment Roman soldiers would have used. In the corner by a reading lamp was a typical Roman "U" chair that was pure luck she had found.

"How was your meeting with the professor?"

Claudia jumped in her chair, clutching a hand to her heart in fright.

"Christ, Scott! You scared the shit out of me!" She exclaimed angrily. Scott tried not to smile.

"Sorry."

"No, you're not sorry. And the meeting was _fine_."

"Why are you in here? It's midnight."

"Thanks for the time check, _Scooter._" Claudia practically snarled.

He moved further into the room and sat in the armchair, casually sitting back and placing the ankle of one leg onto the knee of the opposite leg. He looked right comfortable. Totally oblivious to the murderous thoughts she was having about him.

"Can I help you?" She asked through clenched teeth. He just shrugged and looked nonchalant.

"No, not at all, just thought I'd come by and see what you've done with the place…" Scott replied, craning his neck this way and that to take in all the decorations.

"You're kidding me?"

"Well, that, and the fact that my mere presence always seems to make your cheeks flush red. I've never had a woman react that way around me before because of dislike, and I kind of like it… which is why I always pop up." Scott said with the sincerest smile anyone could muster, but Claudia just knew he was being sarcastic. This was when she wished she could see his eyes to read the emotions there.

"You've checked on me. I'm fine. You've thoroughly annoyed me. Can you leave?"

Scott sat there a moment in thought.

"Nah, I don't think so." Was his answer. Claudia cursed under her breath.

"Why is it that you go out of your way to annoy me?" She asked.

"Because, it's fun! Plus, you let me annoy you, if you didn't show it, I'd stop, but secretly, I think you like it." He said with an uncharacteristic smirk.

"Please. Don't flatter yourself."

"I think it's true. And I also think that, deep down, you're also attracted to me." Claudia laughed.

"Seriously? I can't take this much bullshit. Will you get out of my office so you don't contaminate it?"

"Nah, this chair is _really_ comfortable." He replied.

"I really wish you'd get a life and stop bothering mine." She said.

"And miss the witty repartee? No thanks."

"Grrr…"

"Eloquent, witty repartee!" He teased. Claudia could only just shake her head and try to take deep breaths to calm herself. What was it about this guy that he could tweak her nerves so well?

"By the way, we do have a curfew around here, it's 11 o'clock. Anyone who breaks it has to write a three paper essay on why they thought it was alright that they broke it, and why they'll never do it again."

Claudia just stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Seriously, dude?"

"As a heart attack." And he looked serious, not teasingly as he was not seconds before.

"For teachers as well?" She asked incredulously.

"We try to set a good example for the kids." He said.

"Then what the hell are you doing up and about?" She asked.

"It was my turn for guard duty. You'll get your chance soon enough." At this, Scott stood, and walked to the door. He stopped briefly to turn around again. "I'll expect that three page essay on my desk by noon tomorrow." And then he was gone.

_Great_. Claudia thought. _I'm already breaking rules, Christ! _Reluctantly she stood and tidied her desk a bit before turning off all the lights and walking to her room. _Essay my ass! _She thought when she had flopped down on her bed. Now she couldn't go to sleep. Claudia briefly debated not doing the essay, just to be a total bitch to spite _Mr. _Summers, but she didn't think that would be a great start to the school year if she went against him. She had quickly come to realize that Scott, Jean and Ororo were like the Vice Principals, Xavier's right hand man and women. It would behoove of her to not piss them off, which could in turn piss off Xavier.

So, with that in mind, Claudia pulled herself off her bed, sat at her desk, opened a Word document and began writing her bullshit essay. And when all was said and done, she felt really proud of it. Once she had printed it, she changed for bed, and went to sleep, dreaming of ways to torture Scott Summers.

Eight o'clock came bright and early for Claudia as she stumbled around her room, and to the bathroom to shower, and then down to breakfast (where Scott wasn't present, thank God), and then back to her room to retrieve her essay to take to Scott's office.

The door was closed when she stopped in front of it, and she briefly entertained the idea of just sliding it under the door, but she figured he wanted it _on _his desk. So, with a steely resolve, she knocked on the door to see if he was in.

"Come in." Came his muffled voice through the door.

Upon entering the room, Claudia was struck by the starkness and organization of the room. Not a thing was out of place, not a paper was in sight, and there weren't even personal pictures or posters or anything. _Jesus, what a Nazi._ She though briefly before settling her eyes on the man in question. _Jeesh._ He was freshly showered, and the spicy scent of his soap (Old Spice, maybe?) clung to the air. He had a pair of khaki slacks and a blue button up, collared shirt on.

"Ah, Miss Hargreaves, you have my essay I see?" He said, without a hint of glee or anything.

"Yeah, here you go." She said, practically throwing the stapled copy onto his desk, and then turned to leave.

"Hold up a sec." He said, and Claudia inwardly groaned.

"You have my essay, what more do you want?" She asked.

"Nothing." He shrugged. "Just wanted to check the page amount, margins, font size, that sort of thing real quick." And he pointedly flipped through the pages.

"Satisfied?" Claudia asked.

"We'll see when I'm done reading it. Have a good day."

"Yeah, yeah." Claudia mumbled as she left his office in search of Ororo.

"Hey! I was looking for you!" The white haired woman greeted when Claudia turned a corner.

"Me too! Good thing it didn't take long." Claudia joked.

"I wanted to see if you wanted to come into town with Jean and I. We thought we'd give you the tour."

"That sounds great! Let me get my purse!"

About forty-five minutes later, Claudia found herself at a quaint little café in town, sipping a coffee and having a great time with Ororo and Jean. Claudia had learned what Jean's mutation was, and found it quite amazing.

"So what do you think of the school so far?" Jean asked, sipping at her latte.

"It's great! I guess I need to read up on the rules though." Claudia chuckled.

"Rules?" Ororo asked.

"Yeah, the curfew rules. About being out past midnight and having to write an essay."

The confused looks on the two women's faces made Claudia's heart sink.

"Essay? If we find students out past curfew they get an afternoon of detention. No essay, although that's a great idea." Jean said.

"You mean, students and faculty don't have to write an essay if found out after curfew?"

Ororo and Jean both shook their heads.

"No, faculty members don't have a curfew. The professor isn't that strict." Ororo said.

"Who told you that?" Jean asked. By this point, Claudia was fuming. She was surprised they hadn't commented on steam coming out of her ears.

"A dead man." Claudia ground out.

_Wait till I get back to the mansion_ Claudia thought. _Scott Summers you are so dead!_


	3. Claudia Blows a Gasket

Disclaimer: Again… in Chapter One

Miss Hargreaves goes to Mutant High

By: Dean's Leather Jacket

Chapter Three: Claudia Blows a Gasket

Scott had no idea what was coming. Hurricane Claudia swept into the mansion, and immediately zoned in on his hiding place (granted his hiding place wasn't very well hidden, it was his office).

"SCOTT SUMMERS!" Scott cringed. He was hoping he would've had more time before she found out how much of a liar he was. And more time to find a better hiding place.

"Claudia, really, maybe you should calm down a second…" Came Ororo's soothing voice from beyond his doorway, of which all he could see was five feet, four inches of a very pissed off woman.

"NO STORM! I'M NOT GOING TO CALM DOWN!" Claudia bellowed over her shoulder.

"Really, Claudia, you should work this out with Scott… rationally." Came Jean's voice this time, but neither had any effect on Tornado Claudia. She stormed through the door and slammed it behind her. Scott couldn't help but take note of her heaving chest. _Jesus, she's as mad as a bull at you and you're looking at her chest!_

"Who. The. Fuck. Do. You. Think. You. Are?" Claudia asked him, placing her fists down on his desk and leaning forward, teeth gritted, cheeks flushed, eyes narrowed.

"Um… I'm Scott Summers." Scott replied, and immediately winced. Bad idea.

"Oh?" Claudia stood upright with a sarcastic tone in her voice. "Scott Summers, huh? Because, I was under the impression that you were Adolf Fucking Hitler!"

_She's calling me a Nazi… ok, I deserve that._

"Actually, I'm pretty sure Hitler didn't have a middle name." Strike Two.

"If you don't stop with the smart ass comments, I swear to God, I will have your head!" Claudia shouted.

"Look, you need to calm do—"

"NO! You don't get to TELL me to calm down!" She exclaimed, stalking around the desk to stand toe to toe with him.

Scott really had no idea what had taken him over the past few days. Ever since he saw this woman in the dining room the first night she was here, all he wanted to do was bring up that flush to her cheeks that only seemed to come of him annoying her. He wanted to see the spark of irritation in those beautiful hazel eyes that were framed with stylish glasses. So, since that evening he first laid eyes on her, he made it his goal to be more of an ass than he already was (which he would admit he was a stick-in-the-mud). But right now, with her this close to him that he could practically feel the heat of her rage radiating off of her body, he just wanted to grab her face and kiss her anger away. But, that animalistic pull to claim and possess her lips wouldn't help his situation any… not at all.

"Maybe if you told me what was bothering you…" he began, trying to act dumb, but that was pretty much strike number three.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Claudia gritted. She wasn't shouting anymore, now she just seemed deadly calm. Scott preferred the shouting. "You embarrassed me!"

"How did I embarrass you?"

"You made me think that I was in trouble for breaking curfew, and then you had me write a fucking essay!"

"Oh… that…"

Claudia sucked in a breath through her nose, then let it out through her mouth. _Ok, Claudia, calm down, this man has only made you feel like a COMPLETE imbecile!_ Anger flared again and she had the urge to punch him in the face. And as fast as the anger came on, the anger flittered out of her body like air from a balloon.

"Why, Scott?" She asked, voice suddenly very low.

Scott couldn't believe the immediate 180. The flush left her cheeks, and the angry glint left her eyes, and she backed away, looking very sullen. And then, he felt like the hugest douche bag in the world.

"Claudia, I'm—"

"Please, just don't say it." Claudia interrupted him. "This was not was I was expecting when I took on this job. I thought that I was a nice enough person to be accepted by everyone. I was taking a huge risk coming into a building full of mutants who feel animosity to humans who can't accept them. But I can accept you, but clearly, not all of you can accept me. Please Scott just… don't talk to me anymore."

She then turned on her heel, opened the door slowly, and shut it with a light click behind her. Scott was left standing there, in stunned silence, feeling like the smallest fucking person in the world. This was not like him. He was Scott Summers. Cyclops. Leader of the X-Men. A prized pupil of Professor Xavier. "Boy Scout" for fuck's sake! He felt completely ashamed of his behavior. He had to make it up to her. But how could he do that when she expressly stated that she wanted him to leave her alone?

The last few days before the start of school went by in a flurry of preparation for Claudia. After the whole Scott incident where she felt completely humiliated by his actions, she tried to put him out of her mind entirely, and went to lengths to avoid him at whatever cost. But, she eventually got over the whole incident, and decided that she would talk to him only when it was needed for professional reasons, and that would be that.

Monday dawned early for Claudia the first day of school, but she felt more excited than nervous, which was something new to her. She picked out a favorite outfit of hers: a black knee-length pencil skirt, a white blouse and black blazer to go with it, and black heels to complete the ensemble. In the kitchens, she prepared a mug full of coffee, and with her messenger bag slung over her shoulder, trekked to her first class of the day.

Upon entering the classroom, she saw that all of her new students were all situated in desks (numbering at about fifteen), turned towards each other in conversations that filled the room. When she set her things on the table in the front of the room, everyone quieted and turned toward the front of the room. These were her high school aged students, what she was used too.

"Morning everyone! Welcome to another school year!" She greeted. The class mumbled a good morning back.

"Oh come on! You guys have to be more excited to be here, right?"

There were more mumbles of disagreement and Claudia just laughed.

"Well, welcome to Ancient Civilizations. I'll be your teacher, Miss Claudia Hargreaves. You can call me Miss Claudia, Miss Hargreaves, Miss C, or Miss H. I have no issues with any kind of name you call me as long as it's appropriate." There were some chuckles, and Claudia inwardly cheered that she got a better reaction.

"Before I hand out the syllabus for the class for us to go over, I'd like to start with some introductions." Insert a collective groan. "Yeah, yeah. You all are privileged to have known each other for a little bit longer than I've been here, so this is more for my sake than yours." With that said, Claudia turned to the white board and grabbed a black dry erase marker. "If you please, can everyone get out a plain sheet of paper to write on… I'm going to collect this when all is said and done, by the way."

There was rustling as everyone got out a piece of paper, and Claudia wrote some things on the board.

"Alright, on your paper, please, follow the outline I am writing on the board."

1) Name

2) Preferred name

3) Favorite period in History

4) Hometown

5) Favorite color

6) Favorite movie

7) Favorite band/artist/song

8) An interesting fact about yourself

"I know, this is totally lame right? I swear, there's a purpose to this. It's going to help me a lot in getting to know you guys, and I promise that I will go first in introducing myself, because I think it's also important for you to know me. I'm not used to this sort of informal school setting, but I think I might come to like it a lot." She smiled at them, and then turned back to the board. "So, name, preferred name can be a nickname, whatever you like to be called. Your favorite period in History. If you don't like History, say so! It won't hurt my feelings any! Hometown, where you're from. Favorite color, movie, band or artist or song. And then, an interesting fact about you, it can be anything as long as it's appropriate. I'll give you a few minutes to write this down and then I'll start!"

Then, one of Claudia's favorite sounds in the world began: the sound of pen/pencil on paper. A few minutes later she stopped them.

"Alright, hang on to the papers for a few minutes, then I'll collect them when we're done so I can refer back to them. Alright! So! I'll start the introductions! My name is Claudia Hargreaves, you know that. You know my preferred names. I am a graduate of James Madison University in Virginia, and I got my Master's degree at Worchester University, which is a part of the Oxford University system in England. I then came back to the states to teach in my old high school. Which, leads me to my hometown. I am originally from Yorktown, Virginia, and due to divorced parents, also grew up down the road in Williamsburg, Virginia where my dad lived. I am a Roman Historian, so that's my favorite time period, but I also enjoy anything about World War II. My favorite color is green, absolutely love it! My favorite movie… well… that's where it gets tough. I'm an absolute movie _nut_ and I don't have a favorite, but despite its inaccuracies, _Gladiator_ is up there on my list. As for number five, I am a fan of various genres of music, but you will never catch me listening to country. Can't stand it. But, if I had to name an artist or band I'd say The Who. Closely followed by Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. An interesting fact about myself… well… I studied overseas for my Master's and absolutely loved it! English people are some of the best people in the world!

"So, now that you know me, let's start with you, and we'll go up and down the rows." Claudia motioned toward an Asian-American girl wearing a bright yellow jacket sitting in the front in the row of desks closest to the door. The girl seemed surprised and unprepared to go first (as most are), but she smiled at Claudia none the less.

"My name is Jubilation Lee. I go by Jubilee, mostly. My favorite period of History is anything Chinese, as that is where my family comes from. My parents moved to Beverly Hills, California, and that's where I was born. My favorite color is pink, and my favorite movie is _Clueless._ I love to listen to girl bands like Bikini Kill. And an interesting fact about me is that I love to shop!" Claudia smiled.

"Alright, Jubilee, who loves to shop. Excellent. Well, we'll be talking about China at some point during the course, so hopefully you will enjoy that."

"I'm sure I will." Jubilee agreed.

"Alright, thank you, and you." Claudia looked pointedly at the girl sitting behind Jubilee. She had reddish-brown hair with two peculiar platinum white streaks in the front. She wore jeans, a black t-shirt, and black opera gloves that reached to mid-bicep.

"My name is Marie D'Acanto, I go by Rogue. For History, I like studying the South, because I'm originally from Mississippi. My favorite color is also green. I love watching _The Princess Bride_ and I love to listen to Billie Holiday. An interesting fact about myself is that if I touch someone long enough I'll kill them."

Claudia was slightly taken aback by this proclamation, but no one else seemed phased by it.

"Um… ok…" She wasn't sure how to react to that one.

"It's my mutation. If I touch someone I will absorb their thoughts and mannerisms, and if they're another mutant I'll absorb their power for a short period of time, but if I hold on to them for an extended period of time I could kill them."

"Alright, well, thank you for your introduction, Rogue. Um… next please?" Claudia moved on from the awkwardness.

And that's how Claudia came to know what would later become her favorite class of high schoolers she had ever taught. She met Bobby Drake, Kitty Pryde, Piotr Rasputin, John Allerdyce, and others. They were all serious about being in class, a far cry from what she had experienced in her high school back home. Everyone single one of them had known each other for some time now, and they were all tight knit and close. They joked with each other and they joked with her. They made her feel even more welcome in the mansion.

"Alright, alright, settle down!" She said with a laugh after John made some joke or other. "You're still mine for another twenty minutes! And don't think I'm not going to use them!" They all laughed as Claudia picked a stack of papers off the desk and started to pass them out.

"This is the syllabus for the class. I won't insult your intelligence, I know you can read, so look it over and if you have any questions please just ask them. I also have the right to revise the syllabus at anytime and any way I see fit. Because Lord knows we probably won't stay on time with lectures and the like." She paused for everyone to flip through the syllabus and look it over. John raised his hand.

"Yes, John?" Claudia asked.

"So, I heard this rumor that you were an expert on prostitution." He stated, everyone looked to the front of the class, wide eyed. Claudia laughed.

"Um… well… I once wrote a forty page paper in my first year of grad school about Roman prostitution, but that's not really my main focus." Claudia was blushing a bit. It had mostly started out as a joke; a topic that her best friend had suggested she write about. But her professor loved the idea so much, that he had encouraged her to write it.

"Are you going to teach us anything about that?" John asked, looking hopeful.

"If we have time… perhaps…" Claudia skirted the subject. John seemed to take this answer for now, but she figured that wouldn't be the last she would hear of that subject.

"On that note…" Claudia began again to change the subject. "So, no homework for next time. You get off the hook for now. I'll be seeing you guys on Wednesday. Am I going to see anyone for my Roman Empire class tomorrow?" About half of the class raised their hand, including Jubilee, Kitty, and Rogue.

"Excellent! All of you that won't be there tomorrow will fail this class… just kidding!" The professor had given her the opportunity to teach her favorite subject, the Roman Empire, to any group of high school aged kids that wanted, and a fair number had elected to take it.

"Oh! Before I let you guys go, and yes I'll let you go early, do you guys have any advice for me on how to deal with the littler kids? I've only ever taught high school."

"I'd watch out for Quinn." John spoke up. "That kid's more of a jokester than I am."

"Really? Because while you all were on your trip to the beach, Quinn and I bonded over dinner. He wanted to mummify something though…"

"Yeah, my point exactly." John replied, while everyone else laughed.

"Great, I get a group of fifth grade aged kids later in the day. This'll be fun!" Claudia was actually kind of excited for the younger kids. The Professor had given her periods to teach the middle school kids and a group of fifth graders. He had Ororo teaching the really younger kids.

"Alright, you guys get out of here. I'll see you all on Wednesday, and I'll see some of you tomorrow back here!" Everyone began packing up as murmurs rose up in the room and everyone piled out, saying good-bye to Claudia on the way. She really was thrilled to be there. She could not wait to start teaching.

Glancing at the clock on the wall she saw that she had about an hour and a half before she had to get to another classroom for the middle school kids. Claudia decided to take this time to refill on coffee and grab a quick bite of breakfast. Her bright day took a turn for the stormy though when she walked into the personal kitchen used by residents and saw that the only other occupant was Mr. Hot Asshole himself.

"Morning." He murmured to her.

"Morning." She replied as she refilled her mug and added milk and sugar. He sat at the breakfast nook reading a paper and eating some toast and drinking coffee as well. She couldn't help but notice how very attractive he looked. Hell, he looked attractive all the time. He was wearing a blue button up, collared shirt with a navy blue tie. The shirtsleeves were rolled up to his elbow, and khaki slacks and brown loafers completed the outfit.

To get her mind off of him, she quickly put her back to him to stick both halves of a bagel into the toaster oven, and keeping her back to him, went to the fridge to retrieve some cream cheese.

The silence was extremely awkward, and Claudia hated awkward. With both hands on the counter by the toaster, she realized that this was kind of ridiculous. She still hated the man with a burning passion (or maybe it was some other kind of passion), but it didn't mean she couldn't be civil… although she hated having to be civil sometimes. She figured that she was going to have to work with him at some point for school functions… and she couldn't not speak to him for forever.

"Had a class yet?" She decided to ask.

"No, not yet. I have one in about ten minutes." He replied. "You?"

"Yeah, my Ancient Civ class with the older kids."

"How did that go?" He asked, folding his paper and putting it back on the counter.

"I think it went really well actually." She said, facing him and leaving back against the counter. As she did this, the toaster popped up, and she turned back around to put the bagel on a plate.

"So, you're going to talk to me now?" He asked. She sighed.

"I'm going to be civil, how does that sound?"

"I suppose that's better than nothing." He stood and came around the island to place his dishes in the dishwasher right next to where she was standing, slathering cream cheese on her bagel. He then leaned his hip on the counter, watching her actions and making her feel really small with his towering presence.

"Look, I really am sorry about what I did, Claudia. It was a huge dick move, huge, and I can't live with this silent treatment anymore. Can we just go back to when I annoyed the crap out of you?" He said to her, in this husky voice that at any other time she would've found incredibly sexy. Oh what the hell was she talking about, it was sexy at any point. Despite what he had done to her, she had to smile. She flung her messenger bag back over her shoulder, grabbed her paper towel wrapped bagel, and her coffee, and turned to him.

"Sure, why the hell not? I've kind of missed it." She replied with a smile. This made him smile too, and she couldn't help but notice how great of a smile he had, especially when it emphasized his cheek bones.

"So, you forgive me then?"

"Maybe… all I'm going to say is… payback's a bitch." And with an uncharacteristic smirk, she left the kitchen with her head high.


End file.
